How to Give Instructions That a Child With ADHD Can Follow

Kids with ADHDrespond best to directions that are direct, simple, and clear. This helps to ensure success in following your instructions — and success leads to a whole raft of positive outcomes.

Why Chatty Instructions Don't Work for ADHD Kids

Mom is washing dishes in the sink. The water is running and dishes are clinking. Her back is turned as she calls out, “Joe, finish eating your breakfast, and then brush your teeth and grab your backpack. You don’t want to be late. Oh, and don’t forget to grab your project. It’s due today and you worked so hard on it. Hold it carefully in your lap when you are on the school bus. You don’t want anything to happen to it.”

To a child with ADHD, the directions probably sounded more like this:

“Joe, finish eating your breakfast...something about the bus...blah, blah, blah.”

然后乔被沉没在水槽里跑的水分散注意力，它让他想到游泳，这让他想到了夏令时。他期待着与他的兄弟和朋友在游泳池游泳和玩Marco Polo。他希望兰德尔今年夏天不在游泳池，因为兰德尔是如此的专横。科学课堂上的女孩也有点比。乔因自己的转移思想而消耗，甚至没有意识到妈妈的谈话。

Your child’s distractions and tuning out are not purposeful, though to a parent it can be quite exasperating. With long, drawn-out directions,a child with ADHD快速发现自己在信息过载中。你想要做出的重要观点变得难以处理，特别是因为他被自己的想法分散注意到了他周围的事情。他完全错过了他们，而不是能够成功追随你的指示。这使你们俩都沮丧，它让你的孩子失败而不是成功。

如何给出您的孩子可以成功地遵循

Here are some simple tips for increasing your child's compliance when you give him a direction. You may also want to share these tips with your child’s teacher at school.

1. When giving directions, move closer to your child and get his attention by touching his shoulder or arm and saying his name.
2. Make sure you have eye contact with your child as you give the direction.
3. Give simple, actionable instructions. For example, say “Put your homework folder in your book bag,” rather than "Get ready for school."
4. 在坚定的声音中清楚地说话。
5. If you need to provide explanation, say it before giving the direction. For example, "We have to go to Grandma's right after school today so we aren't late for her dinner. If you want to play with toys at Grandma's, pick some out and give them to me now." If you wait and say it after giving your child the direction, he may forget your original command.
6. 在给出方向后，等待几秒钟并留在孩子身边，以确保他对任务保持注意力。如果他遵守并妥善了解，请立即赞美他的工作。如果您不确定他完全明白了说明，请让他以自己的话重复。
7. 如果您的孩子不遵守，请给他一个何时…THENstatement that specifies your expectations and the consequences for not complying. For example, “When you put the folder in your backpack, then you will have 10 extra minutes for computer time.” If your child complies, give him praise. If he does not comply, follow through with theloss of something，喜欢计算机时间权限。
8. 在您的方法中保持一致和平静，并与您孩子生命中的其他成年人联系，以确保您全部以同样的方式给出相同的信息。